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Stories from the great recession years

2

Comments

  • #32
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,280 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    The country had a real pervasive feeling of failure to it. Especially in the dying days of the FF-Green Coalition, when it seemed like a bunch of liars in denial were asleep at the wheel. The IMF coming to town, when the Government said they wouldn't, was an example of this. As was the big freeze when the country felt like it was grinding to a halt and Minister for Transport publicly refused to come home from his sun holiday to sort it out. All the usual clowns like Sinead O'Connor were revelling in the misery by coming out with statements like we should have never had our independence because we couldn't look after ourselves.

    My biggest regret was buying into that negativity and getting depressed about the future. If you have no obligations recessions are a great time to enjoy yourself, study extra skills and do all the other things you won't have time for when it's booming.

    Recession Sessions were great craic.

    Dublin had cool late-night unlicensed rave spots in semi-derelict buildings. There was at least one off Parnell St that only served vodka and went on till all hours. We ran into [insert Socialist firebrand here] there and he legged it while claiming it wasn't actually him.

    Friends lucky enough to have jobs could rent nice apartments in town for not that much. Grand Canal hadn't been colonised by Google and the Tech MNCs just yet.


  • #33
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 2,093 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Knew a guy in the midlands town where I grew up, locals tagged him a "loser" during the Celtic Tiger years, he lived on his mother's small farm, worked on the building sites and drove an old car.

    When the recession hit, he bided his time and bought a house in cash for peanuts. The people laughing at him were all up to their eyeballs in debt.


  • #34
    Salvadoor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 295 ✭✭Salvadoor


    The utter depression associated with having nothing to do but trawl job sites, send out CV's and listen to Joe Duffy. Tough days


  • #35
    Rodney Bathgate
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,440 ✭✭✭Rodney Bathgate


    Salvadoor wrote: »
    The utter depression associated with having nothing to do but trawl job sites, send out CV's and listen to Joe Duffy. Tough days

    Listening to Joe Duffy has that effect on most people. Best avoided.


  • #36
    Buford T. Justice XIX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,621 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    Zaph wrote: »
    I left school in 1984 - now that was a real recession. I was lucky enough to get a reasonably well-paying temporary job with one of the main banks the year after. In the meantime my father closed his business as it just wasn't sustainable, but as he was self-employed he wasn't able to claim the dole. He got some pittance in unemployment assistance, and together with that, the money I was handing up and some nixers he was able to do my parents made sure that the mortgage that only had a few years left to run got paid, bills were paid and we didn't go hungry. They were their main objectives, and they somehow succeeded, mainly due to how good my mother is with managing money. After leaving the bank I ended up on the dole for 4 or 5 months and came very close to emigrating, which many that I went to school with did. However I somehow managed to get a job and stayed in Ireland, but it was still very bleak for a good few years after that. Bad and all as things got after the Celtic Tiger years, I never want to go back to how bad it was in the 80s and early-90s, it really was a soul destroying time.

    1984 was the last of the bad years, my parents used say.

    My eldest sister left school that year and most of her class emigrated to look for factory and unskilled jobs and very few went to college.

    When I left school a short time later, the majority went to college and, while they still emigrated later, they went looking for good jobs as they had qualifications.

    And most of my year came back again to work in the 90s while my sisters year rarely came back except on holidays.

    Tbh, I seriously think we will be lucky to end up with a recession this time. A load of the financial flexibility that was available post 2008 isn't available now. To my mind, a depression is a lot more likely this time. We're unlikely to get much help from America as a major consumer of our products, our biggest trading partner has left our economic grouping and we've only just balanced the budget after 12 years of austerity.


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  • #37
    buried
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,980 ✭✭✭buried


    The one incoming is going to make the one from 2008 look like a birthday present.

    Bullet The Blue Shirts



  • #38
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,832 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    chrissb8 wrote: »

    In a way though, it was a great time, a night out in Dublin was cheap with Magaluf-Esque drink deals going on (Diceys being a notorious destination for getting royally drunk on 30eu). Restaurants with previous notions suddenly started doing 2 for 1 or early bird specials. Trips around Ireland being very affordable. Cinema tickets etc.

    Thats actually very true. I was lucky in the last recession in that I never borrowed during the Tiger so was debt free and had a job all through it, most of my friends were the same and we made the best of it. Used to eat out in restaurants at least once if not twice a week, you could get 2 course early birds for 15 quid a head which was great value. Same with hotels, 4 star hotels on Groupon, Living Social doing a double room, breakfast and dinner on arrival for 70 quid. Those discount sites are empty of offers now and a stay in a 4 star with dinner would easily be 200+. Aldi/Lidl selling rib eye steaks for 2 euro another little bonus during those years and the German supermarkets coming into the market made the day to day recession times a lot easier for people in many ways

    It wasnt the same for everyone though. Have a family member who found themselves entering the recession having just paid 1.5 million for a house at the very top of the bubble which was now costing them the price of a brand new small car a month every single month. They didnt take a holiday for almost 6 years just trying to pay that house down and even now at best it would fetch 1 million so quite a hefty loss there even when it is fully paid for.


  • #39
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 97 ✭✭ [Deleted User]


    The last recession definitely shaped me as a person today. I was 16 when it happened. My auld lad had his hours cut and saw a lot of friends parents suffer a lot.

    I still had a part time job and I was reminded day in and day out by the parents how lucky I was to have it.

    The year before lads I knew were leaving school and college to start work early and then we were told to stay in college as long as possible. I was doing an arts degree to be a teacher but after all the austerity measures in 2010 and the prospect of a tiny percentage of my class actually getting to pursue education as a career I decided to do an IT conversion course afterwards to get a job in a more in demand sector.

    I became REALLY frugal after college, probably too much to be honest but the thoughts of the arse falling out of the economy and not recovering like everyone was saying it would terrified me. I'm not as bad when it comes to enjoying things now but am still really aware of spending and try to save a reasonable amount each month.

    And like a lot of people have mentioned, I do remember how cheap nights out became - great for an 18 - 20 year old at the time!


  • #40
    padd b1975
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭padd b1975


    Trigger Happy wrote: »
    The 80s were grim but I remember my dad telling me about a kid in his school in the 30s who pissed on his own feet to warm them up.

    That's an old SCUBA diving trick.


  • #41
    Geuze
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,283 ✭✭✭✭Geuze


    buried wrote: »
    The one incoming is going to make the one from 2008 look like a birthday present.

    The economy contracted sharply during Q2.

    If there is a recovery during Q3, then will that even count as a recession?

    A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.


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  • #42
    Hego Damask
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 842 ✭✭✭Hego Damask


    antimatterx wrote: »
    After reading the thread about the Celtic Tiger years, I thought it might be interesting to have one for stories about the great recession (good or bad).

    I was about 12 when the recession hit, and luckily my parent shielded me and my brothers from the worst of it.

    The worst thing to happen was my dad lost his job for a few months as he worked in construction. We got very lucky as his company kept finding new work to keep ticking over for a few years until the worst of it passed.

    My uncle lost millions building in a McMansion estate and lost his entire property portfolio (about 10 houses), and lost a few hundred grand in Anglo shares.

    The best thing to happen was that through watching the news and observing people around me I probably became more aware of the economy and how the world works than I should have.

    Must have really hurt you, I guess you only could get the new Range Rover every 2 years rather then yearly ...


  • #43
    buried
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,980 ✭✭✭buried


    Geuze wrote: »
    The economy contracted sharply during Q2.

    If there is a recovery during Q3, then will that even count as a recession?

    A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

    But you have some sectors of the economy that reported there was no adverse effects at all, digital online companies like Amazon that made a fortune during lockdown.

    There is positive signs there, but that stuff is only positive for numbers, and most of that stuff bought on Amazon was paid for by credit card anyways.

    The real signs of this thing will be the effect on the streets

    There is now an absolute surplus of products left in storage that wan't used during the lockdown, oil, fuel, foodstuffs, then you will have the situation the likes of the Covid payment will stop, be definitely reduced, next thing you will have the credit card bills incoming to the people that splurged during the lockdown. Then you will have those that can work and are back to work taxed to the hilt to pay for the payments. The surplus products left in storage won't be bought.

    This is where the damage will start to kick in and completely take over.

    Bullet The Blue Shirts



  • #44
    antimatterx
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,180 ✭✭✭antimatterx


    Hego Damask wrote: »
    Must have really hurt you, I guess you only could get the new Range Rover every 2 years rather then yearly ...

    It didn't hurt me at all, I hardly know him. Although he made sure everything knew how much he lost because of the banks.
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  • #45
    lalababa
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,789 ✭✭✭lalababa


    Geuze wrote: »
    The economy contracted sharply during Q2.

    If there is a recovery during Q3, then will that even count as a recession?

    A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

    I'm in Cork City, the town is literally black with shoppers (mostly women), the industrial service estates are thronged with traffic. Suppose there is a bang of pent up demand. AFAIC Ireland is awash with money. And NO tourists probably this season. There will be a big dent in this year's tax takings maybe 15 billion, but it's just a quick sharp blip. What we are really waiting for is the rich people and investment companies to say hang on a minute the markets are overpriced, which they will, and then we will have a worse event than 2007/8.


  • #46
    freshpopcorn
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,286 ✭✭✭✭freshpopcorn


    Well if we're talking about the 08 Recession.
    I was in 5th year at the time. I remember the teacher who loved FG coming in telling us Bertie was stepping. I remember I was at home when the Emergency Budget was on TV. It was the last thing I really watched with my grandmother before she went to hospital and died.
    Shops had good offers and places valued your custom more, snobbery around Lidl and Aldi declined.
    People used the excuse of the recession to get out of doing things.


  • #47
    L1011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 76,176 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    5555555555 wrote: »
    I remember previously snobby bars were mad to get you in , runners and all .

    The death of dress codes was probably the most beneficial result for me.

    I own two pairs of "fancy" shoes, one to go with each colour suit. They never get worn otherwise. Lots of city centre venues that didn't want me in in 2007 were delighted to take my money by 2009.


    I got a job in a fairly recession proof industry in 2006 - they had three rounds of redundancies before I left in 2013, by which time they worst of it was over. Still went from bonuses, overtime, blowout Christmas parties (they booked a decent hotel in its entirity for ~80 staff. I won 200 quid cash in the raffle over the dinner so came home richer than I went in despite the free bar not lasting the night) to having to argue over receipts for expenses by the end of it; but others had it way worse clearly.


  • #48
    buried
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,980 ✭✭✭buried


    The 08 recession I was living in a house with three other lads, all of us renting the property from this f**king absolute muck savage no mark foundation level neck merchant. As thick as he was, he knew the game was up, because the year beforehand in 2007 he offers the four of us to buy his mould infested $hitheap for the "bargain" price of 250,000euros each, "Ye'll make a fortune lads, shure they are going to need to knock this thing in order to make a laneway down the back to build a housing estate", This is how this shyster twank tried to sell it. "Down the back" was a flood plain that was 10 feet underwater in the winter of 2010. Two of the lads I was living with were even considering this lads offer. Moved out shortly after that. Don't know what happened. Probably the place got flooded too and they are all still in there.

    Bullet The Blue Shirts



  • #49
    L1011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 76,176 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    buried wrote: »
    The 08 recession I was living in a house with three other lads, all of us renting the property from this f**king absolute muck savage no mark foundation level neck merchant. As thick as he was, he knew the game was up, because the year beforehand in 2007 he offers the four of us to buy his mould infested $hitheap for the "bargain" price of 250,000euros each, "Ye'll make a fortune lads, shure they are going to need to knock this thing in order to make a laneway down the back to build a housing estate", This is how this shyster twank tried to sell it. "Down the back" was a flood plain that was 10 feet underwater in the winter of 2010. Two of the lads I was living with were even considering this lads offer. Moved out shortly after that. Don't know what happened. Probably the place got flooded too and they are all still in there.

    Landdirect.ie, 3 quid to satisfy your desire to know what happened. Come on, you know you want to.


  • #50
    buried
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,980 ✭✭✭buried


    L1011 wrote: »
    Landdirect.ie, 3 quid to satisfy your desire to know what happened. Come on, you know you want to.

    Hah! I drove past it a few months ago, lets just say the same green net curtains are up in the thing when I left it, and there is no "housing estate" down the back!
    But yeah f**kit might do it and see what the story is

    Bullet The Blue Shirts



  • #51
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 6,246 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Recession session in pubs,where all drinks were 2.50 to 3 euro.....quality terrible....but pished for 20 to 25 euro....happy days!!


    Waterford went sh1te in hurling,even worse kk went v.well,bunch of cùnts

    always seemed to rain too


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  • #52
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 21,290 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Was very fortunate in that at the height of the Tiger my then 82 year old mother sold the family 1930s suburban semi-d and I, her only child, got the proceeds to buy an apartment where she would live out her days with me. Of course the apartment was very expensive but I had the spare change to buy a place to let, and got excellent tenants which I still have. So I was extremely fortunate to be cushioned the effects of the recession, even though salary etc reduced. At the time my mother spotted new build 1 bedroom apartments for sake in Monaco at 98K, but alas I didn’t take up the suggestion that I might buy one. Kicking myself since I saw same for sale at multiple times the price in the intervening years. There aren’t many genuine bargains, that was a rare one.

    The Big Recession we are now entering is going have enormous effects on many people, will likely hit every one of us to some extent if another but I fear for the devastation it is going to have, with no overseas emigration sanctuary.


  • #53
    Spanish Eyes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,199 ✭✭✭✭Spanish Eyes


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Was very fortunate in that at the height of the Tiger my then 82 year old mother sold the family 1930s suburban semi-d and I, her only child, got the proceeds to buy an apartment where she would live out her days with me. Of course the apartment was very expensive but I had the spare change to buy a place to let, and got excellent tenants which I still have. So I was extremely fortunate to be cushioned the effects of the recession, even though salary etc reduced. At the time my mother spotted new build 1 bedroom apartments for sake in Monaco at 98K, but alas I didn’t take up the suggestion that I might buy one. Kicking myself since I saw same for sale at multiple times the price in the intervening years. There aren’t many genuine bargains, that was a rare one.

    The Big Recession we are now entering is going have enormous effects on many people, will likely hit every one of us to some extent if another but I fear for the devastation it is going to have, with no overseas emigration sanctuary.

    Well it won't affect people like you or indeed myself. I did my purgatory but am very well sorted now with many a cushion and a great life that suits me down to the ground.

    You are giving tmi away there, but who cares. That's up to you.


  • #54
    the14thwarrior
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 430 ✭✭the14thwarrior


    I've lived through both recessions, No way was 2008 worse than the 80s.

    getting into the civil service or the bank was for the very clever ones, these would be the people that would have to sit in a hall and down exams. unless you knew someone.... couldn't get a job in the army, police, aer lingus, with height and weight restrictions.....
    couldn't get a job, any job......
    but if you did get a job, you stayed in it, and learned to like it. because it gave you money to go out and have a bit of fun. You generally went out twice a week, usually no more. You got the bus into town, and either walked home or shared a taxi.

    only people that could afford houses where those with jobs, and they saved lots of money and got a mortgage, albeit the houses were in line with your wages and thus, a decent enough job would get you a decent house. you bought the furniture as you went, not as you moved in.

    you bought a few clothes, and wore them all the time, you defo had your good pair of jeans and good top or shoes........ if you had a car you were doing well.

    depending on your social class at least everyone was in the same boat. you didn't really know you were poor, because everyone was the same.

    and being poor meant you had no money, literally. other than that, you had a bit of money and made do.


    you went away for two weeks holiday and had to save year around for it
    lots of people emigrated. I did. I had to. No job, no money. I got the equivalent of nearly 600 points in leaving cert, but lots of my friends were just as clever, with no job.

    If your family were rich, went to college, then you could too. A very tight circle. If you went to college you generally got a degree that would get you a job. then you could get a mortgage, and buy a house. houses were priced accordingly. not mad prices mind you.

    can't compare to people who bought a very expensive house, or two;
    people who went on big holidays and long weekends in helicopters. bankers and w*ankers, and companies who spent money like it was paper money

    a lot of people were caught up in it, and caught out. but lots and lots of people were not as affected as in the '80s.

    I know there was a lot of good people that really got caught out by the recession in 2008. but i know far too many people who did stupid things and made stupid decisions and talk about how the recession hit them.

    I would never want to go back to either of those times.
    we live in the times we are raised in though.
    each generation will live through them, and hopefully will learn from them


  • #55
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,832 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    Deleted User wrote: »
    At the time my mother spotted new build 1 bedroom apartments for sake in Monaco at 98K, but alas I didn’t take up the suggestion that I might buy one. Kicking myself since I saw same for sale at multiple times the price in the intervening years. There aren’t many genuine bargains, that was a rare one.

    Jesus 98k for an apartment in Monaco was a bargain. Just watching the current BBC documentary series called Inside Monaco and I doubt you would even get a car park space there now for 98k, they have newer wealth competing heavily with older money. Population is only about 35,000 so there are tons of wealthy people gagging to own property there to get the low tax residency status.


  • #56
    freshpopcorn
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,286 ✭✭✭✭freshpopcorn


    One thing I remember about 2009 was the decline in new cars and often the ones you saw new were very basic spec cars!


  • #57
    buried
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,980 ✭✭✭buried


    freshpopcorn wrote: »
    One thing I remember about 2009 was the decline in new cars and often the ones you saw new were very basic spec cars!

    I memba hearing cars coming up the road from at least 5 miles away due to the fact they were all falling apart and nobody even had the money to get them fixed

    Bullet The Blue Shirts



  • #58
    Strumms
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,197 ✭✭✭✭Strumms


    In ‘08 the recession helped us out for a bit in work initially. Workload went down to reasonable from manic but then went to the point where 3 hours out of 8 we had fûck all to do.

    Boss we has then was ok, but when the shït looked like it was hitting the fan...we noticed the senior manager and indeed other managers returning from their smoke breaks by taking a shortcut through our office all of a sudden which while they knew wasn’t appreciated it was done by them to try and get a handle on how busy we were.

    I copped this and said “when you hear the footsteps and the doors opening down there, screen goes off sky sports and into the daily report regardless if it’s been finished, if you are on the phone to the other half you start talking work like you are onto a colleague until they leave ”....

    Of course about three of us yes could do it, but a couple of the younger guys would be roaring down the phone laughing to a mate, feet up on the spare chair looking like they were in the pub during their ‘downtime’... and soon the senior guys are delving deeper into our shift, productivity and so on... with a bad ending.. have to be savvy and ruthless too with anyone not singing the same song.


  • #59
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 4,082 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Before the recession, even if it was a respectable brand like Lenovo, you were ostracized for not buying it in a respectable establishment like Clery's or Peats of Parnell Street. Both closed now.

    These days a growing number buy from small gadget shops. There are 2 separate stores at my local shopping centre.


  • #60
    pgj2015
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,616 ✭✭✭✭pgj2015


    Ubbquittious wrote: »
    I remember petrol at 99c a litre down from about 1.40. I had just passed my driving test so I was delighted. Still in college when it hit. Like I mentioned in the other thread nobody in my family bought any property or did much splurging. Was still going on regular trips abroad and generally had a grand auld time, did a good bit of visiting different parts of the country all on the cheap of course. The one nuisance was of course languishing and trying to finding a job which I found impossible until 2013 and only got that because I had some unusual combination of skills nobody else had.

    It was mad how things went back to normal after the recession hit. The queues outside night clubs in Cork vanished, prices in the shops went down quite quickly, the bouncers who were complete dickheads to me before with finding excuses not to let me into places because I didn't look posh enough suddenly vanished. There was a shop in cork that sold only hot tubs and they had a massive closing down sale. All the hot tubs were sh1te quality plastic ones from China of course.

    Just like now there was an 'inertia period' where people didn't quite believe what was happening especially for people selling houses. High asking prices stayed up as ghost estates were starting to appear.

    You had those lumbering idiots Noonan and Phil Hogan on the tellybox telling us how it was all our fault and we had to pay all these new austerity taxes that are still here today. Fianna Gael getting in on their "not one red cent" manifesto and quickly cosying up to the bondholders and paying them all as soon as they had their mandate.



    fuel prices were really high during the recession because the government kept throwing 10 cent onto a litre every time there was a budget, I definitely paid 1:77 for a liter of petrol. I remember paying 99 cent a litre during the boom, maybe around 2004.


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  • #61
    Gretas Gonna Get Ya!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,245 ✭✭✭Gretas Gonna Get Ya!


    What recession? :cool:


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